Fall in Lake Placid

Cascade Mountain Lake Placid

For many years now, when the leaves start to turn colour my family has headed north to take in the beauty of fall. That has typically meant going to Algonquin or Arrowhead for camping on the Thanksgiving weekend, or even just for a day trip. Then there’s always the basic pleasure of a stroll through the woods or cleaning up the leaves in the yard. No matter how you slice it, Fall is the best season.

But this year we decided to try something a little different and headed to Lake Placid to take in a hike in the mountains. We were keeping a close eye on the fall colour reports (and the weather) for Ontario and New York and we were worried that the fast progression of the colours would leave us hiking through leafless trees (in the rain). But the forecast looked like we would at least get good weather on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, so we hit the road.

Whiteface Mountain Lake Placid

When we arrived in Lake Placid Saturday evening, we headed straight for Whiteface Mountain to take in the views. There was just one problem. By the time we hiked to the peak, the clouds had rolled in and we couldn’t see much of anything!

At least that was until the way down the mountain. There was a small crack in the clouds on the horizon and I was hoping the sun would break through before we had to get off the mountain. By the time it did, we were half way down and the only places we could stop to take in the views were a little obstructed by the trees in the foreground, but the way the light was hitting the valleys and peaks below was pure magic.


Whiteface Mountain Lake Placid
But the wind was blowing strong and the rain started to move in so the conditions didn’t last long. However as we exited the park, we got one last surprise when my wife spotted this partial rainbow down the road. It never turned into a full rainbow, but it was still pretty cool.

The next morning when we woke up it was pouring rain, which continued until after lunch. When things finally cleared up (and after we had to wait out a downpour in the grocery store), we headed off to hike Cascade Mountain. We weren’t quite sure what to expect because they had re-routed the location of the trail head due to the high number of hikers on the long weekend. Unfortunately that meant the length of the hike was doubled from four miles to eight! It was a long haul (especially for my son) but it was worth it for these views!

Cascade Mountain Lake Placid Cascade Mountain Lake Placid

Monday morning, there was a ton more rain so we packed up and headed home. But all was not lost since the drive was full of amazing views and colours. I hate to say it, but it really did put driving through Algonquin to shame!

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